More On Airplanes And Internet

fonixmunkee writes "as a sometimes-traveler for work, and a huge nerd, I am always excited about news like this. it appears that some airlines may start offering internet access next year when you need to get that internet fix at 35,000 feet. I was pleased when they started selling wireless internet in airports, so this is another welcomed suprise for techie travlers. apparently they want to use satellite to get high-speed connections to the planes in the air. pretty cool. " Too bad Northwest isn't going to have it for my DTW -> NRT -> KUL -> PER for CALU.

Comments

I can see the use on transcontinental flights..

[3.5 stripes]

I haven't flown in a while, do they also offer power connections for your laptop?

Cuz a 12+ hour flight wouldn't be very much fun after your backup batteries die.

And remember, the foldable tray will stop your willie from overheating:)

Emergency procedures

[Anonymous Coward]

If you commit a crime via the Internet at 30,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, whose jurisdiction does it fall in?

IPSky

[MosesJones]

A plug for a mate IPSky talks about the market and the issues and is a pretty good starting doc on this sort of stuff from a technical/management perspective. The interesting part of some of these elements is that it enables additional information to the pilots and potentially between planes. Getting the internet to the passengers is relatively simple, combining it with elements like TCAS to reduce the risk of collisions and also to enable less reliance on Air Traffic Controllers in areas where they have no Radar coverage.

Re:It's been done

[Sacarino]

Years later, I was on a plane that still had the system installed (but turned off). The rumor around the office was that it cost $250K to remove the now-dead system from a plane, and the airlines weren't willing to foot the bill, so the dead system stayed in planes for years to come.

Well, sure. All that crap was installed and computed in the zero-fuel weight of the aircraft. In order to remove it, you'd need to pay the mechanics to yank the parts out, drain the fuel (ALL the fuel - in the tanks, the fuel lines, etc), re-weigh the aircraft, resubmit the paperwork to the FAA in order to get the work approved, and possibly repeat a step if the feds dont like something.

Never underestimate the red tape mess the FAA is capable of producing. Such a task could take an aircraft out of service for quite some time. Ask anyone in aviation; a plane that's not flying isn't making you money and could be costing you instead.